We live in an urbanising world, in which more and more children and
young people live in cities. In industrialized countries, a half to three-quarters
of all children live in urban areas; in the developing world, the majority
of children and youth will be urban in the next few decades. Yet across
a wide range of indicators, cities are failing to meet the needs of young
people and their families.
- What does the process of urbanization mean in the lives of young
people?
- From young people’s own perspectives, what makes a city a good
place to grow up?
- What factors help children and youth feel connected to their urban
communities? Or alienated and disconnected?
- How can community development processes encourage children and
youth to invest energy and hope in their urban futures?
Growing Up in an Urbanising World summarizes the results of
an eight-nation UNESCO project that explores these questions and others
across a spectrum of low-income neighborhoods in the industrialized and
developing worlds.
Building on the pioneering ideas of the Growing Up in Cities project
of the 1970s (a four-country effort directed by the influential urban
planner Kevin Lynch),
Growing Up in an Urbanising World gives new emphasis to the
active participation of children and youth in the planning, design, and
implementation of urban improvements. It shows how principles of the Convention
on the Rights of the Child, Agenda 21 of the Earth Summit, and the Habitat
Agenda can be implemented at the local level in order to engage young
people's insights, energy, and creativity in shaping their cities and
towns. It documents typical obstacles to participatory processes, and
recommends policies and practices that will make cities more responsive
to the needs of children, adolescents, and their families.
Growing Up in an Urbanising World is written by an interdisciplinary
team of child-environment experts from the fields of urban planning, architecture,
geography, anthropology, psychology, and environmental education. They
bring their chapters to life with case study accounts, site maps, photographs,
and children's and adolescents' own words and drawings.
How to order
You may order "Growing Up in an Urbanising World" at:
For additional information, please contact:
Growing Up in Cities project
UNESCO-MOST Programme
Fax: +33 1 45 68 57 24
E-mail: ssmost@unesco.org
Thank you for your interest!
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